The Inherited Ritual of Modern Freemasonry!

What is known about the rituals of the Knights Templar? Very little really, we know what they were accused of when the order was condemned by Phillip the fair and the Pope Clement (who Phillip had in his pocket), but those accusations were probably largely spurious and so tell us nothing in effect. It had been suggested that the rituals of the Knights Templar were a precursor for modern Freemasonry, and that may well be the case, as there are several factors which commend the suggestion. Alternatively we must also consider the purported Operative guild origins of Freemasonry, an idea largely prevalent in England, and which may simply be a device whereby the Grand Lodge of England can claim that Freemasonry originated in that country (which clearly it didn't!).

The Knights Templar had 3 ordinary grades within the order: Squire, Sergeant and Knight, like the three degress in Freemasonry: Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft amd Master Mason. But these can be equally equated to the traditional craft roles of: Apprentice, Journeyman and Master.

But why stop with the Knights Templar, where did their rituals originate? surely the subject matter of Masonic rituals is Old Testament anyway, so why not look further back? The Knights Templar were accused of including in their rituals, certain practices which were akin to Catharism, which in turn had inherited those ideas from earlier Gnosticism, which leads us back to Jesus. But surely Jesus wasn't a Freemason I hear you say? Hmmm, well the raising of Lazarus from the dead seems decidedly like the ritual of the 3rd Degree in modern Freemasonry, when viewed subjectively, and Jesus own resurrection was essentially the same ritual again.

Following the route back through Jesus who had connections with several fairly diverse sects, a path can be traced back to the Israelite exodus from Egypt, led by Moses who had been initiated into the secrets of the Egyptian High Priests. Safe to say, that Moses took what he had learned and adapted it into something new and unique, but surely much of the secret rituals he had learned would have been preserved by him and practised within the High Priesthood of the new Judaic religion.

So, it's possible to conclude that elements of sacred ritual have been preserved since ancient times and permeated down through the ages till the present day. The modern rituals have probably lost all of the substance and intent which was implied originally, having been distilled down to a fraction of the original and adapted to suit many differnt agendas, but a clear lineage is a possibility!